06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Reports that boys under 18 were detained as part of targeted raids and security sweeps; troops reportedly placed Chechen boys ages 13 and older in filtration camps where some reportedly were beaten and raped by guards, soldiers, or other inmates ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19313]

"There were reports that boys under 18 were detained as part of targeted raids and security sweeps conducted by Russian and pro Moscow Chechen forces in Chechnya. Troops in Chechnya reportedly placed Chechen boys ages 13 and older in filtration camps where some reportedly were beaten and raped by guards, soldiers, or other inmates. The women's action group White Kerchief (Belyy Platok) reported that some federal forces kidnapped children in Chechnya for ransom. In September 2004 at least 338 hostages, about half of them children, were killed after terrorists took an estimated 1,200 hostages at a school in Beslan, North Ossetia."

Document(s): Open document

06.09.2006 - Source: Freedom House

Thousands of orphaned children and teens are long-term homeless ("The Worst of the Worst: The World's Most Repressive Societies 2006") [ID 17266]

"There are tens of thousands of additional internally displaced persons inside the region and well over 100,000 long-term homeless, many of them orphaned children and teens. (…) The war has taken a heavy toll on children, many of whom suffer from various psychological traumas. Children, who accounted for up to 40 percent of casualties during the war, continue to suffer from inadequate living conditions, including lack of access to education and health care."

Document(s): Open document

06.01.2006 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Thousands of orphaned children in Chechnya, but currently only three orphanages ("Chechnya: Forgotten Orphans") [#41425],  [ID 16128]

"Chechnya’s labour and social development ministry estimates that the republic needs at least ten orphanages to house needy children. But currently it only has three -the one in Grozny where Madina lives and two others in the villages of Gvardeiskoe and Kurchaloi, as well as two rehabilitation centres in the towns of Argun and Shali. The problem of orphaned children hit Chechnya suddenly and on a scale it still cannot cope with. Chechens say the republic never required children’s homes because traditionally orphans have always been looked after by relatives or neighbours. The first two children’s homes in Chechnya appeared only in the 1960s. It was always considered a disgrace if the child of a friend ended up in such an institution. More than a decade of conflict has changed everything. According to data from the labour ministry, of 450,000 children under 18 in Chechnya today, over 1,200 have lost both parents and 25,000 have lost one to the fighting in the republic that has raged intermittently since 1994. Another 19,000 children are disabled. Yet only 420 of these orphans are in children’s homes or rehabilitation centres. The Grozny orphanage relies heavily on private donations to keep going, as international humanitarian organisations have not contributed towards its upkeep for some time now. Although the institution struggles, it rarely puts up children for adoption, after some unfortunate experiences."

Document(s): Open document

02.12.2004 - Source: ReliefWeb

Chechnya: over 100 children killed and 600 others injured by landmines over the past decade, according to UNICEF ("More than 100 children killed by landmines in Chechnya in decade: UNICEF (AFP)") [#27497],  [ID 16129]

Document(s): Open document

17.11.2004 - Source: Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers

There is no conscription or compulsory recruitment into rebel groups, according to spokesperson of the Chechen armed opposition ("Child soldiers global report 2004") [#27189],  [ID 16130]

"There is no conscription or compulsory recruitment into rebel groups, according to Ilyas Akhmadov, spokesperson of the Chechen armed opposition. Akhmadov stated that “several dozen under-18s may have participated in resistance operations” although younger children who attempted to join were “in most instances … returned to their parents”. Akhmadov also stated that the children “were moved to join the fighters because of the [January 2000] announcement that the Federal forces would consider any [Chechen] male from 10 to 60 years old to be possible combatants”.28 Others also stated that the involvement of children in rebel groups is voluntary.29 Military sources in mid-2002 said that an increasing number of youths aged from 18 to 25, some of them as young as 14, were among the fighters and involved in the fighting.30 In July 2002 a Russian general was reported to have noted the large numbers of Chechen boys aged about 15 or 16 among those killed by a military operation to crush a rebel detachment.31 A Chechen surgeon reported in 2003 that his 15-year-old nephew had begun slipping away to join the fighters because many of his friends were already with them, the schools were no longer functioning and he felt useless sitting at home.32 Chechen armed groups reportedly used under-18s, particularly girls, in suicide bombings. In May 2003 prosecutors announced the arrest of a woman and a 16-year-old girl in Chechnya’s Shatoi district in connection with the recruitment of women and girls involved in the October 2002 Moscow theatre siege, who reportedly included a 16 year old.33 At the end of 2002 a man and his 15-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son reportedly carried out a suicide attack in Chechnya’s capital, Grozny.34 In September 2003 women were reported to be training in the Vedeno region for such bomb attacks, among them a 15-year-old girl who was being “prepared” by an older man."

Document(s): Open document

17.11.2004 - Source: Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers

Boys reportedly joined village and district self-defence units and were occasionally involved in fighting alongside their friends and families to protect their villages from Russian forces and rival armed groups ("Child soldiers global report 2004") [#27189],  [ID 16131]

"Boys reportedly joined village and district self-defence units although it was unclear how widespread such groups were in 2004.36 The units were made up of members of extended families (teipy), and boys were occasionally involved in fighting alongside their friends and families to protect their villages from Russian forces and rival armed groups.37 One observer saw a 15 year old fighting at the side of his relatives in a small independent unit in Samashki. Several armed youths were posted on guard duty. In one unit, members’ ages ranged between 15 and 50, and the children were armed with guns.38 In a unit in the town of Alkhan Kala, many of the fighters were reported to be “mere boys”.39 Other Chechen armed units appeared to have been established as security guards, to defend the territory of specific individuals against other Chechen armed groups. In the Vedeno region, for example, a local administrator involved in a blood feud and rivalry with two field commanders described five youths manning a checkpoint as “my partisans”."

Document(s): Open document

14.05.2004 - Source: BBC News

Chechnya: 3 school students have been kidnapped by unknown assailants in Dyshne-Vedeno ("Attackers abduct Chechen pupils") [#22324],  [ID 16132]

Document(s): Open document